Our client benefited from a SW facing garden, with plenty of sunshine streaming in for a good part of the day. Only problem was the geology and the fact that there was an apology of a rear terrace. The garden sloped upwards very quickly and steeply way from the house and was formed into a series of terraces.

Having said this there were some very nice features including a rockery the client had created some 20 years previous which would give the famous rockery at Wisley a run for its money!

Gardenproud put pen to paper and came up with a number of concepts. The client settled on an idea that created a large rear terrace that was lit at night, and linked in with the rockery via a new set of steps and a small upper terrace. In the process the rockery was also tweaked to incorporate a further tier and side beds reflected further aspects of the rockery.

To create the space for the terrace a huge volume of earth had to be moved, all by hand! A team of 3 gardeners grew huge muscles digging through the Tunbridge Wells clay and sandstone rock , then barrowed this debris out via a narrow side entrance to it seemed hundreds of awaiting skips!

A similar task had to be undertaken to carve out the new route for the flight of steps to take.

A new large soak-away was designed and integrated to help channel rainwater away from the terrace.

A combination of bricks to tie in with the house, and Indian Sandstone to contrast and reflect light was chosen for the step and terrace surfaces. A further design twist included cladding the terrace and step walls in crazy paving using Indian Sandstone as the base material. This turned out to be a winning design characteristic and also an excellent light reflector.

A more usable grassed area was also incorporated which featured a more level surface.

The main rockery face of the steps incorporates rock edging to help blend the Indian Sandstone surfaces with the natural Sandstone rocks of the rockery. Rockery plants trail over the tops and among the cracks.

The new steps include oak risers to help soften the overall effect and add a further dimension.

The lighting scheme includes a brass lantern on the rear house wall, plus brass spots on the remaining 3 faces to create a subtle lighting effect. Similar style lights albeit of a downward facing marker style run up the flight of step

To help signify the transition from the terrace into the garden a pleasant trellis archway has be erected.

The Gardenproud team went onto incorporate a new pathway in similar material down to the front of the house, plus a very important water butt fed by guttering around the shed.

Finally new fencing and matching trellising was erected to the neighbour borders.

The finished result speaks for itself.

For further information or ideas about how to enhance or make sense of a difficult garden space please contact Tim Sykes at Gardenproud on 07725 173820, or via email info@reallygardenproud.com